Ramin Cooper Maysami and Christopher Ziemnowicz __________________________

Ethnicity, Gender and

Entrepreneurial Tendencies:
The Singapore Perspective

RAMIN COOPER MAYSAMI AND CHRISTOPHER ZIEMNOWICZ

Abstract
Creativity and risk-taking, widely accepted prerequisites for successful entre-
preneurial behaviour, were absent for a long time from Singaporean culture,
where people were accustomed to well paying and readily available jobs in
the public sector. As a result of the economic slowdown of the late 1990s,
promoting entrepreneurial activities became a priority of the Singapore
government. This study analyzes the entrepreneurial characteristics of Sin-
gapore's multi-racial and multi-cultural society, and attempts to find if there
are any reasons as to why some people are more readily willing to engage in
entrepreneurial behaviour, based on factors such as race, gender, and culture.

Keywords: Entrepreneurship, culture, innovation, risk propensity, Singapore

Introduction

A new enterprising breed which dares to dream big and risk failure is what
the country needs. Lee Kuan Yew1
Since gaining independence in 1965, labour-starved Singapore has
increasingly moved towards adapting capital-intensive production
systems to replace the previous labour-dependent methods. Moreover,
the goal of many Singaporeans at that time was to obtain the well-pay-
ing and readily available jobs that were available in the public sector.
The economic slowdown of the late 1990s resulted in greater attention
being paid to entrepreneurial characteristics such as creativity, innova-
tion, and risk-taking.
The country now aims to move another step forward, and catego-
rize itself as a knowledge-intensive society. In the words of Singapore
Minister Mentor (MM) Lee Kwan Yew, 'In this new phase, it is people
with the imagination, drive, willingness to think big and take risks
to bring their ideas into the commercial marketplace, who will make

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______________________________ Ethnicity, Gender and Entrepreneurial Tendencies

the economy grow, make themselves rich, and provide jobs for our
people'2.
Ray (1990) asserts that human resources management and local enter-
prise development are effective paths to economic growth in countries
such as Singapore that lack natural resources. Singapore's Minister of
Trade and Industry, Lim Swee Say, agrees: 'we need to turn creative ideas
into the raw materials in our economy, and innovation into the driving
force of economic growth'3. Likewise, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong
has urged Singaporeans to become more entrepreneurial and less averse
to taking risks if they want to succeed in the global economy4, as risk tak-
ing, innovation, and entrepreneurship have been identified as important
factors contributing to success in today's highly competitive economy.
Although these factors are not instant remedies for all economic prob-
lems within a nation, numerous studies have identified that innovation
and entrepreneurship provide benefits for individuals and companies,
as well as improving a nation's economy. For the purposes of this dis-
cussion, innovation can be defined as the successful introduction and
adaptation of any new structure, concept, product, approach, or process
within an organization's operation. However, newness is determined by
something being new to the organization, and not necessarily something
completely original to the world at large. Innovation is thus an economic
and social concept, rather than purely a technical term. An entrepreneur,
who is a profit seeking risk taker, commonly carries out innovations and
introduces creativity. Entrepreneurs decide which projects to undertake
and how they should be undertaken. The success of an entrepreneur can
also be measured by the increase in value of available resources. To be
successful, an entrepreneur must convert and rearrange resources in a
manner that will increase their value (Duymedjian and Ansart 2007),
thus expanding the production possibilities of the existing resources.
Firms pursue new ideas, challenge different approaches and exploit
change. They provide energy and flexibility to risk everything, even
failure, to meet challenges.
Taking the view that entrepreneurship is 'an engine for economic
growth', the Singapore Ministry of Education (MOE) has been con-
templating various alternatives to stimulate creative thinking among
students at an early stage in their education. This strategy is based
around Singapore's multi-racial and multi-cultural citizens, and the
belief that factors that contribute to the entrepreneurial spirit are related
to race and culture. In addition, the government is helping to promote
an entrepreneurial spirit by developing a conductive environment for

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Ramin Cooper Maysami and Christopher Ziemnowicz __________________________

entrepreneurial activities, through granting various incentives and as-

sistance to business start-ups.
Examples of these include the Business Angel Fund that was launched
by the National Science and Technology Board, to encourage co-invest-
ment in selective technology start-up companies. Similarly, the Local
Enterprise Financing Scheme (LEFS) is designed to encourage and assist
local enterprises to upgrade, strengthen, and expand their operations.
This is administered by the Productivity and Standards Board and of-
fered through 28 participating financial institutions. The government
also revised the Bankruptcy Act to encourage a higher degree of entre-
preneurship and risk-taking.
Various demographic factors have been shown to have an influence on
the entrepreneurial inclination of the individual. A few of factors in the
literature include age (Blanchflower, Oswald, and Stutzer 2001), gender
(Cromie 1987; Fagenson & Coleman 1987; Sing, Reynolds & Muham-
mad 2001), perceptual experience (Arenius and Minniti 2005), and the
level of education (Cooper & Cascon 1992). Cultural-based beliefs and
behaviour are other major determining variables.
Gasse (1982) suggested that some societies appear to breed entrepre-
neurs more readily than others, while Redding (1986) noted that certain
ethnic groups appear to exhibit more entrepreneurial spirit. Often, the
lack of entrepreneurial ventures may be the result of cultural barriers
rather than the lack of economic opportunities. In the United States, for
example, where entrepreneurs receive high recognition, entrepreneur-
ship can flourish, and the entrepreneur may even be seen as a folk hero
in popular culture. There it is better to have tried and failed in business
than not to have tried at all.
In addition to these findings, there is extensive research into the
relationship of entrepreneurship to factors such as race and ethnicity,
for example, in the work of Rosenstien and Light (1995). Research into
cultures and the degree of emphasis on goal attainment and success,
show numerous differences among nations. Although the relationship
between nations and culture does not have a direct relationship, gener-
alizations help illustrate important differences. For example, Timmons
et al (1985) postulated that certain Chinese cultural values are in direct
conflict with commonly agreed upon entrepreneurial characteristics.
Within the dynamic business environment, culture is the single variable
that affects every facet of any enterprise. Moreover, issues of culture,
communication, and other related variables arise from the fact that
individuals in any business firm are socialized in three dimensions

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– into their culture, into their business, and into their corporate culture
(Terpstra 1991). In addition to these cultural factors, there has been a
move to modernise the traditions and laws regarding women's status
and opportunities in Singapore.
As stated, Singapore is a multi-racial, multi-cultural society composed
of Chinese, Malay, and Indians as well as mixed-raced 'Eurasians'. Each
ethnic group has retained its own culture, customs, and traditions, and
have learned to live harmoniously with each other. This unique blend
of cultures in Singapore has motivated this research, the purpose of
which is to ascertain the relationship between culture, gender, and
entrepreneurial spirit among Singaporeans.
In summary, the primary objective of the study is to find whether
distinct cultural values of the Singaporean Chinese, Malays, and Indians
affect their respective entrepreneurial spirit. It is hoped that this will
provide a starting point for formulating different strategies to promote
the entrepreneurial spirit among various racial groups.
The remainder of this study is organized as follows: the next section
briefly defines entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial characteristics. The
influence of culture on entrepreneurial activities is also discussed. Next,
the result of a survey to assess the impact of ethnic Singaporean culture
on entrepreneurial spirit is given. A discussion of the results follows,
based on the observed cultural factors. Finally, in light of the findings,
recommendations are given.

Literature Review
Entrepreneurship can be defined as an ability within the individual 'to
locate new ideas and put them into effect'. As Baumol (1968) asserted
over three decades ago, the entrepreneur 'must lead, perhaps even
inspire to effectively complete this function'. Prior to this, Schumpeter
(1954: pp. 87-88) suggested 'economic development would emerge
when 'new combinations' appeared discontinuously'. New combina-
tions include the introduction of a new good or a new quality of a good,
the introduction of a new method of production, the opening of a new
market, the conquest of a new source of supply of raw materials and
components, and the reorganization of any industries. The execution
of the new combination he called enterprise, and the individuals who
executed them, he called entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurship has since been defined in various ways. For ex-
ample, as a creative activity whereby the entrepreneur introduces

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Ramin Cooper Maysami and Christopher Ziemnowicz __________________________

something new into the economy (Setty 1980) or an act of innovation

that involves endowing existing resources with no wealth-producing
capacity (Drucker 1985), and a process by which individuals pursue
opportunities without regard to the resources they currently control
(Stevenson et al. 1989). The entrepreneur is viewed as an innovator
who is the ultimate value-adding component in the chain of innovation
from 'idea' to a commercially successful business. He perceives profit
opportunities and initiates action to fill unfulfilled needs or improved
inefficiencies (Kirzner 1982). In short, entrepreneurs are what they do,
not who they are.
The hypothesis that cultural factors may enhance or inhibit the desire to
express enterprise in a business context is well documented (Weiss 1988;
Maysami and Goby 1998a). According to Thomas and Mueller (2000)
culture, representing the shared values and beliefs of a society, is an im-
portant contextual factor affecting the number of potential entrepreneurs
in a given community, region, or country. They suggest that identifying
the nature of the relationship between culture and entrepreneurship can
provide governments with information necessary for targeted programs
intended to motivate new venture creation, thereby increasing employ-
ment and adding to economic vitality and flexibility.
Moreover, the emphasis placed on entrepreneurship is not the same
across different cultures. Shapero (1984) concluded that culture is an
explanatory variable for entrepreneurial activity, or the lack of it. In the
opinion of Long (1996), a culture that rewards and values ethical en-
terprising behaviour, and has markets that are open to entrepreneurial
participants wishing to pursue potential economic and physical gains,
will indeed stimulate entrepreneurial activity. By contrast, Becker (1956)
has noted that some societies consider business as an unholy activity,
and so entrepreneurial behaviour is also frowned upon.
The success of Chinese business people, for example, has been linked
to their personal characteristic (Kirby and Fan 1995) and management
style (Ng and Ng 1994). According to Maysami et.al (1998b), the basic
values underlying Chinese business ownership are networking and
diligence. They also noted that personal relationships underlie the dy-
namics of Chinese business dealings. In addition, Wu (1983) has identi-
fied some Chinese cultural values that that help to further explain the
success of Chinese business owners. These include practices such as a
high propensity to save, tendency to reinvest business earnings, and a
universally strong desire to secure a better education for their children,
who would then be expected to carry on their business,

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It is important to distinguish small business projects and entrepre-

neurial ventures. A small business may be any enterprise that is (1)
independently owned and operated, (2) not dominant in its field, and
(3) does not engage in any marketing or innovative practices. On the
other hand, an entrepreneurial venture is often characterized by (1) in-
novative strategic practices, and (2) principal goals of profitability and
growth. Entrepreneurs also embrace innovation and engage in strategic
management practices. Such behaviour is not always typical for small
business owners or managers.
Following this proposition, small business owners or managers should
therefore display certain characteristics if they are to be categorized as
entrepreneurs: (1) they must be innovative, (2) they should always in-
ject new ideas and propose new ways of doing things, (3) they explore
new markets, and (4) they initiate new projects. Chell et. al. (1991) listed
the defining characteristics of entrepreneurs to include opportunistic,
innovative, creative, imaginative, proactive, agents of change and
ideas-people. Gibb (1985) has argued that three of the most frequently
mentioned entrepreneurial attributes, flexibility, creativity, and inno-
vation, are missing from the list of Chinese cultural values. Hornaday
(1982) added two other attributes, positive response to change and
profit-orientation, to this list.
Meanwhile, the entrepreneurial environment in the Malay commu-
nity is apparently even less vibrant compared to the Chinese. In the
opinion of Choy and Ismail (1991), the predominant reason, is the lack
of a cultural tradition that supports such activities. They contend that
an individual's locus of control in the Malay community is external and
wealth is transient, while Hamzah-Sendut et al. (1990) agree that Malays
tend to dislike materialism and seek the idea of social harmony and
mutual co-operation. However, research on the relationship between
Indian culture and entrepreneurship is more limited.

Methodology and Data

To further examine the relationship between Singaporean Malay, Chi-
nese, and Indian cultures and entrepreneurial spirit, a comprehensive
survey was carried out.
As a wide range of characteristics are attributed to entrepreneurs
(Capati, 1986), in designing the survey, this study has taken into ac-
count the influential works of Sexton and Bowman (1985), Brockhaus
and Horwitz (1986), and Begley and Boyd (1987). Six characteristics are

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Ramin Cooper Maysami and Christopher Ziemnowicz __________________________

found to be more predominant in the psychology of entrepreneurs and

were thus selected for the measurement of entrepreneurial spirit: (1)
creativity, (2) locus of control, (3) risk-taking, (4) need for achievement,
(5) determination, and (6) self-efficacy.
Creativity is regarded as being essential to a successful entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurs are frequently described as being innovators, for 'without
innovations there is no entrepreneur' (McGraw 1991). From this, the
following hypothesis is formed and tested:
Ho: There is no significant difference in the level of creativity among the
Chinese, Malays, and Indians in Singapore
An internal locus of control is another commonly posited psychological
character of entrepreneurs (Perry 1990), for, 'entrepreneurs have con-
fidence in their own ability to achieve their goals through their own
efforts, as opposed to luck, fate or external circumstances' (Rotter 1966).
With confidence, comes the willingness to take risk. Cunningham and
Lischeron (1991), suggested that risk-taking is one of the major entrepre-
neurial characteristics. Mill (1984) has similarly suggested risk-taking as
the key factor in distinguishing entrepreneurs from managers.
Meanwhile, according to McClelland (1961), entrepreneurs prefer
to set their own goals and are driven by their own need for achievement.
According to Sjaver and Scott (1991), this need for achievement is a
strong driving force behind human action influencing entrepreneurial
behaviour, and is the driver that pushes the individual to greater efforts
(Capati 1986). A further important characteristic is determination, one
that would be expected in an individual with high achievement needs.
According to Kao (1993) an entrepreneurial sprit is an aggressive and
determined business attitude.
Cunningham and Lischeron (1991) found entrepreneurs to have a
higher degree of self-efficacy relative to non-entrepreneurs. Furthermore,
research findings by Krueger et al. (1999) demonstrated a positive rela-
tionship between perceived self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention.
Individuals who are have high entrepreneurial self-efficacy have higher
levels of entrepreneurial intention.
Five other hypotheses are thus formed and tested:
Ho: There is no significant difference in the level of [(2) locus of control, (3)
risk-taking, (4), need for achievement (5), determination, and (6) self-efficacy]
among the Chinese, Malays, and Indians in Singapore.

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Questionnaire Design
The questionnaire comprised two sections. The first identified the
demographic characteristics of the sample, and the second part com-
prised thirty statements aiming to determine the respondents' level of
entrepreneurial spirit through an assessment of the above-mentioned
six characteristics. Each of the characteristics was appraised using five
statements adapted from the studies by Levenson (1974), Robinson et
al. (1990), and the Entrepreneurial Self-Assessment Scale in the 'Entre-
preneur's Handbook' (1981).
The questionnaire used a 5-point Likert Scale to indicate the degree
of the respondent's agreement or disagreement with each statement
(Elmore and Beggs, 1975, have shown that a 7- or 9-point scale does not
improve the reliability of the ratings). To minimize response-set bias and
the halo effect, certain statements were reverse-scored and mixed with
others. Before the questionnaire was finally distributed, a pilot test was
conducted on a small sample of fifty respondents. Minor amendments
were then made to improve its format and readability.

Data Collection
The sample respondents consisted of residents from Housing Develop-
ment Board (HDB) estates. These are best described as self-contained
towns that constitute the residences of almost 90 percent of Singaporeans
(Singapore Population Census 2000). The ones chosen for the research
were in Yishun, Tampines, Jurong and Redhill, representing the north-
ern, eastern, western and central districts of the country. To prevent bias
in selecting the best sample, five HDB blocks in each housing estate were
selected randomly from the 2002 Singapore street directory. Beginning
with the first household on each floor of the block, every subsequent
fourth household was surveyed.
A total of 353 responses were collected. Twenty were rejected due to
incomplete answers or because they were of races other than Chinese,
Malay, or Indian. The remaining 333 responses, of which 229 were Chi-
nese, 56 were Malays, and 48 were Indians, were used in the analysis.

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Table 1 depicts the descriptive characteristics of the sample in terms of

gender, age, marital status, and education level.

TABLE 1: Descriptive statistics.

Male 123 36.9%
GENDER
Female 210 63.1%
Chinese 229 68.8%
RACE Malays 56 16.8%
Indians 48 14.4%
Below 21 30 9.0%
AGE 21 – 30 202 60.7%
31 – 60 101 30.3%
Single 219 65.8%
MARITAL
Married 109 32.7%
STATUS
Others 5 1.5%
Tertiary 131 39.1%
EDUCATION
Non-tertiary 202 60.9%

Statistical Methods
A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test was performed to inves-
tigate significant differences in the six entrepreneurial characteristics
among the three racial groups. Additionally, a one-sample t-test was
conducted on each of the entrepreneurial characteristics where signifi-
cant differences among the three ethnic groups were deduced. Here, the
sample mean score for each characteristic was used as the test value. In
essence, the entrepreneurial characteristics of each racial group were
compared with the average respondent. A racial group was considered
high on a particular characteristic when their mean score was higher
than the test value.

Results
The results of the one-way ANOVA test, as depicted in Table 2, showed
significant differences among the three racial groups in creativity, need
for achievement and locus of control. However, no significant differences
were shown among the three racial groups as far as determination, risk
taking and self-efficacy are concerned.

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TABLE 2: Entrepreneurial characteristics – central tendencies.

ENTREPRENEURIAL
MEAN STANDARD DEVIATION
CHARACTERISTICS
Creativity 16.81 1.90
Determination 18.39 2.68
Risk-taking 16.05 2.65
Need for Achievement 18.66 2.48
Self-efficacy 15.67 2.53
Locus of Control 16.54 2.77

TABLE 3: Summary of Anova results

Significant Dif-
HYPOTHESIS
Test Value. Results ferences among
On differences in:
ethnic groups?
Creativity 0.010* Reject H0 Yes
Determination 0.158* Accept H0 No
Risk-taking 0.243* Accept H0 No
Need for Achievement 0.033* Reject H0 Yes
Self-efficacy 0.180* Accept H0 No
Locus of Control 0.040* Reject H0 Yes
* Significance level of 0.05

TABLE 4: Summary of one-sample T-test results.

HYPO-
Test Value* Race Mean Conclusions
THESIS
Indian 17.46 High
Creativity 16.81 Malay 17.07 High
Chinese 16.62 Low
Indian 19.52 High
Need for
18.66 Malay 18.57 Low
Achievement
Chinese 18.50 Low
Indian 17.25 High
Locus of
16.54 Malay 16.96 High
Control
Chinese 16.28 Low
* Significance level of 0.05

The results obtained from the one-sample t-test are presented in Tables
3 and 4. The test was performed on characteristics of creativity, need
for achievement, and locus of control that differed significantly among
the three racial groups. The results showed that the mean scores for the
Indians in each of the three categories were the highest. For the Malays,

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Ramin Cooper Maysami and Christopher Ziemnowicz __________________________

the mean scores for creativity and locus of control were slightly above
that of an average respondent. However, their mean score for need of
achievement was below average. The mean scores on creativity, need
for achievement, and locus of control for the Chinese sample were the
lowest.
In brief and based on the findings from this questionnaire, this study
concludes that Singaporeans of Indian origin are the most entrepre-
neurial among the country's three racial groups, and the Chinese are
the least.

Discussion
These findings lead us to ask, why do the different groups show vary-
ing degrees of creativity, locus of control, and need for achievement,
while at the same time there are no significant differences among them
in terms of risk-taking, determination, and self-efficacy? This report
postulates that specific cultural values and beliefs inherent among each
ethnic group are primary contributors to these findings. The next sec-
tion explores possible links between culture values and the presence, or
lack of, entrepreneurial characteristics among the three ethnic groups
in Singapore.

The Indians
Religion plays an important role in the life of every Indian. Hinduism
is forms the ethos of the majority of Indians, including those who have
migrated to Singapore (Srinivasan 1990). As such, religion paves the
way to the understanding of Indian culture.
The doctrines of Karma and transmigration have greatly shaped Indian
culture, and even today the influence is alive and active, according to
Sumathi (1994). Indians believe that the success of a man is under his
own control and that he will reap what he sows. As Bose (1990) puts it,
'man is the sole and absolute master of his fate'. This internal locus of
control is further supported by the belief in transmigration, in which a
man's rebirth is determined by the cumulative good or bad actions of
his previous lives (Srinivasan 1990). Hinduism believes in the eternity
of soul and its reincarnations that eventually lead to final liberation or
moksha (Kishore 1996). Hence, Indians feel that they and their actions
alone are accountable for their eternal liberation.
In addition to having a high internal locus of control, Indians possess
a high need for achievement. Hinduism advocates the quest for right-

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eous living, love, and happiness, and wealth and prosperity (Srinivasan
1990). As asserted by Kishore (1996) these attitudes encourage people
to continuously seek excellence in what they do, since the path to salva-
tion lies in one's good actions (karmas). With their thirst for knowledge,
Indians are universal in their outlook, according to Sumathi (1994), and
are receptive of new ideas and willing to learn from other people.
Moreover, the Indians are a family-oriented community (Stern 1993).
According to Sumathi (1994), living in and being raised among large
families has endowed Indians with a great sense of security and group
identity, but relatively little individuality (individualism and the neglect
of the wants of others in the community are indeed considered selfish).
Hence, Wolpert (1991) argues that conformity to the family and author-
ity becomes the first law of Indian life and a major limiting factor to
creative growth, radical change, or independent initiative.
This statement apparently contradicts the finding of this study, in
which Indians have been ascertained to possess high creativity. The
discrepancy may be explained by the growth of individualism as a
result of urbanization, changes in employment patterns, and economic
development in Singapore (Sumathi 1994). Moreover, Hinduism accepts
the validity of many paths leading to the same goal (Hofer 1997). This
suggests that creativity and individualism may no longer be constrained,
but rather, a natural characteristic of the Indians.

The Malays
Bedlington (1971) argues that the Malay idea of rezeki or belief in the
predetermination of man's economic destiny, results in fatalism and a
'lack of will to go on striving'. In the same vein, Noordin (1996) states
that the Malay belief in fate - that Allah has a predetermined plan for
them - may sometimes lead to the unquestioning acceptance of the order
of things. Everything that happens, whether good or bad, is attributed
to God's will. Rajaratnam (1991) reiterates the feudalistic consciousness
(fatalism) of the Malays. From these comments, one may be lead to
believe that Malays possess a high external locus of control. Findings
from this survey, however, were that the Malays displayed higher than
average internal locus of control.
The findings from the survey are indeed supported by a group of
educated Malay elite, comprised of members of the Muslim society at
the National University of Singapore and leaders of various other Ma-
lay and Muslim associations. They have argued that Malay values, and
in particular, incorrect interpretations of Islam, are the causes of their

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lag in economic prosperity. The belief in a pre-destined future without

the need to make an effort (as a result of a passive attitude towards
religion) may have lead to fatalism, an over concern with rituals and
satisfaction with short-term results. Such beliefs have been described as
negative, non-progressive, mistaken. Moreover, it has also been stated
that non-Islamic views have crept into Malay's interpretation of Islam
(NUS Muslim Society and NUS Malay Society 1982), which has had a
negative effect.
Rahim (1979) asserts that Islam stresses work and effort, forbids lazi-
ness, involves long-term planning, problem solving as well as forbid-
ding waste, arrogance, complacency, and despair. These give support
for the notion of internal locus of control that may be inherent in the
Singaporean Malay culture.
Malay culture may also have a role in shaping their attitude towards
the accumulation of wealth through entrepreneurial activities. In the
ethos of Malay society, the unrelenting pursuit of an objective, like the
accumulation of wealth, is not held in esteem and is thus given low
status. In fact, it is condemned as inconsistent with gracious living on
which they place much importance (Goh 1977). According to Noor-
din (1996), respect and status in the Malay community is earned not
through material possession but through friendliness, neighbourliness
and willingness to lend a hand in times of trouble. Furthermore, high
priority is placed on personal happiness, which does not necessarily
come from wealth.
In the Malay view, precise and explicit calculation, or the blatant
pursuit of maximum profit with no consideration for the other party,
negates social relationships which are developed between individuals
on the basis of a mutual willingness to 'give' (Li 1989). As a result of their
reluctance to commercialize family relationships and the tendency to
personalize commercial relationships, the possibility and acceptability
of personal advancement through entrepreneurship may be inhibited.
Mendaki (1993) proposed that the nature of the 'Singaporean' way
of life demands an almost obsessive interest in economic development,
whereas Islam demands reasonable limits on materialism. This conflict
may have lead the Malays to be less influenced by pressures to assimilate
into the urban, industrialized, time-conscious and competitive world
of many Singaporeans. This, in turn, proposes support for the ideology
that Malay culture does not advocate a strong need for achievement
(especially in terms of monetary pursuit), a fact that is reflected in the
findings of this study.

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The Chinese
The most influential beliefs that form the foundation of Chinese cultural
traditions, and still provide the basis for the norms of Chinese interper-
sonal behaviour, is Confucianism (Pye 1972). It is often pointed out that
the Chinese in Singapore have always been Confucian in their thinking
and behaviour, even if only subconsciously, and that Singapore Chinese
society is Confucian in value orientation and organizational structure
(Kuo 1986).
Indeed, Confucianism was revitalized in Singapore in the 1970s with
the 'Speak Mandarin' drive. This campaign may have raised the level of
consciousness among the Chinese population about what it means to be
Chinese. Lian (1999) has stated that this, along with the promotion of
Confucian ethics in the 1980s, has resulted in Singapore being an active
player in the so-called re-invention of 'Chineseness'.
Confucianism as the behavioural or moral doctrine based on the
teaching of Confucius, governs human relationships, social structures,
virtuous behaviour and work ethics (Kirby & Fan 1995). The ideal man
envisaged by Confucius is not a successful entrepreneur, but a scholar
bureaucrat. The key value is harmony and order, and taking initiative
and innovation may be viewed as a threat to social harmony. This may
explain why key entrepreneurial values such as creativity, initiative, and
innovation are missing from the vocabulary of Chinese values.
Entrepreneurs generally have an internal locus of control while eth-
nographic evidence has shown that fatalism with regard to personal
economic destiny exists in the Singapore Chinese culture (Wee 1976;
Leong 1978; Lai 1973). This supports the result of this study, which
shows that Singaporean Chinese have an external locus of control.
The need to achieve has always been inherent among the Chinese
in Singapore, and has become more pronounced in post independ-
ence times (Cheng 1985). The Chinese are easily unsettled by other
people's judgements and have thus developed a defensive nature.
Even confident people are susceptible to being controlled by fear of
shame. This fear of shame or "saving face" as commonly phrased in
Singapore, spurs the Chinese to hunger for achievement and to seek
success (Tamney 1996).
On the other hand, the Singapore Population Census of 2000, revealed
that Chinese, with an average household income of $3,848, are the most
affluent among the three races. With 58 percent of the Singaporean Chi-
nese attaining Secondary school or above qualifications, they also have
the highest education profile. As a result of their economic and academic

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success, the Chinese in Singapore may have been entrenched in their

own comfort zone, thus reflecting their low need for achievement.

Similarities among the three Racial Groups

The findings of this study show no significant difference among the
three groups in terms of risk-taking, determination and self-efficacy.
We postulate that ethnic and cultural factors are not strong advocates
for these entrepreneurial characteristics among Singaporeans. Instead,
there may be plausible reasons for similarities between the Singaporean
Chinese, Malay, and Indians as far as risk-taking, determination and
self-efficacy are concerned.
First and foremost, the Singapore government has channelled vast ef-
forts into the promotion of a Singaporean national identity, and has been,
by most accounts, successful (Tong and Pakir 1996). The development
of this overarching national identity seems to have resulted in different
communities being encouraged to accept the same set of parameters for
dealing with certain important issues in the society.
In addition, the majority of Singaporeans, regardless of ethnicity, are
exposed to the English-medium, unified educational system, where
schools use a common syllabus and students take common examina-
tions. This may also have imparted a common set of values English
was adopted as the main medium of education for pragmatic reasons
according to Tong and Pakir (1996). The only choice available to a small,
yet multi-cultural and potentially multi-lingual country such as Singa-
pore, to become a part of the international grid of business and finance,
was to adopt the English language. Tham (1996) supports this view by
asserting that the adoption of English as the official language has been
instrumental in realizing Singapore's development objectives.
The promotion and usage of English as an official language in the
workplace has provided a common platform where different racial
groups can communicate effectively with one another. This has reduced
communication breakdown, and at the same time, has increased the
opportunities for different races to better understand one another's
culture, and perhaps develop a unified value system.
Finally, increased and continuous interaction among the three racial
groups is brought about by the gradual 'levelling' of lifestyles, housing
policies, and occupations. Integrated schools and ethnic mixing in the
new housing estates have indeed promoted a higher degree of social
interaction, and may further explain the blurring of cultural boundaries
in Singapore. From this, it is necessary to ask what are the possible causes

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______________________________ Ethnicity, Gender and Entrepreneurial Tendencies

of the less than desired level of risk taking, self-efficacy and determina-
tion among Singaporeans, regardless of their race?
In the drive for growth and economic success, the Singapore system
has become the epitome of meritocracy, claim Wong et al., (1993). The
local system rewards those who follow a tried and tested path to suc-
cess. Perceived to be a disgrace, failure in entrepreneurial efforts may
bring shame to the individual and family, and should be avoided at all
costs. The stigma of failure may have thus resulted in a society that is
highly risk adverse. SM Lee reiterates this point: 'we have got a society
which is risk adverse because we have been too successful and we have
too few failures'5.
In addition, the proportion of those in managerial and professional
positions has jumped from 10 percent to 24.4 percent of the labour force
in the last ten years. Good salaries, attractive packages and career ad-
vancements associated with positions in large reputable corporations,
constitute a higher opportunity cost in risk taking.
The competitive school and work environment may have also contrib-
uted to low self-esteem among Singaporeans. A 1992 national survey,
for example, revealed that more than half of the teenagers surveyed
had low self-esteem attributed to assessment of personal worth based
on academic accomplishments (Gasmier 1992). Career advancements
and monetary achievements are the major concerns of the adult Sin-
gaporeans. As suggested by Yeo (1985), high flyers are singled out for
mention, and achievement is the hallmark of a successful life. The con-
tinuous pursuit of excellence, characteristic of Singapore society, may
have adversely affected the self-efficacy of its people.
The economic policies of the Singapore government have been hugely
successful in increasing growth and affluence. According to the Singa-
pore Population Census 2000, the economy expanded over the previous
decade at an average GDP growth of 7.7 percent per year. The average
monthly income doubled to $2,200 between the years 1990 and 2000.
Home ownership rate increased from 87.5 percent to 92.3 percent in
the same period while car ownership by household jumped from 28
percent to 31.7 percent.
These national achievements may have lead Singaporeans, especially
the younger generation, to be complacent, heightening their reluctance
to leave their comfort zone. This, evidently, has resulted in their lack of
diligence and determination. In addition, while the abundance of em-
ployment opportunities provides a safety net for working adult, it may
have held back their level of determination, as they lack the motivation

_________________________________________________________________________ 89
Ramin Cooper Maysami and Christopher Ziemnowicz __________________________

to persevere in face of obstacles faced in innovative entrepreneurial

endeavours.

The role of women in business ventures

Deng, Hassan and Jivan's (1995) Asian study note that the majority of
women business owners in the region are in their 30s and early 40s.
Similarly, Singaporean female entrepreneurs have an average age of
41 and are mostly married with two children (Teo 1996). Female Sin-
gaporean business owners have at least 10 years schooling, while 35
percent held first or postgraduate degrees, 15 percent had professional
or polytechnic qualifications, and 50 percent had completed second-
ary-level education.
Collerette and Aubury (1991) showed that prior to setting up their
ventures, the majority of female business owners had previous work
experience. Although female-owned businesses are well diversified and
range from service to manufacturing, the majority of female business
owners in Singapore seem to be in the service and retail industries.
This may be the result of the high start up costs involved in manufac-
turing and construction sectors, as well as prospective female business
owners' lack of prior experience and technological skills in these areas.
Consequently, female-owned businesses in Singapore usually start as
small service and retail ventures with few employees, and grew over
the years to become progressively more established. The majority of
Singapore female-owned businesses have been in operation for an
average of nine years.
Business ownership structure seems to affect the way female business
owners manage their venture as well. When run by women, businesses
registered as private limited companies and sole proprietorships were
more successful than partnerships (Rashid 1996). Perhaps it is then not
surprising to find that 64 percent of female-owned businesses in Singa-
pore are private limited companies, 21 percent are partnerships, 14 per-
cent are sole proprietorships, and only 1 percent is publicly owned.

Motivations, Problems, and Success Factors

In the opinion of Hisrich and Brush (1986), in general, women are
primarily motivated by the need for independence as opposed to men
who are motivated by material rewards. Lee-Gosselin and Grise (1990)
note that the idea to start a business originates almost exclusively from

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______________________________ Ethnicity, Gender and Entrepreneurial Tendencies

women business owners to 'fulfill an old dream, a desire for recognition

by others, the desire to put one's knowledge and skills to use, a continu-
ity to training or work experience, or the desire to be independent and
have control over one's life'.
The five major factors which best motivate Singaporean female busi-
ness owners in particular are cited by Teo (1996). These are the iden-
tification of business opportunities, the desire to put their knowledge
and skills into use, the need for freedom and flexibility, the desire to
achieve personal growth and recognition, and the need to make more
money for financial independence. It was, moreover, the prospective
female owners' own personal decision to start a business in fulfilling their
sense of self-worth, and not family and friends' influences, that inspired
them. As motivators in arriving at their decision, Singaporean women
mentioned loss of job or inability to find a suitable job, encouragement
by the government, taking over the family business, and finding the
previous job too demanding and stressful.
This is maybe an Asian trait: 66 percent of female entrepreneurs doing
business in Asia were motivated primarily by the desire for autonomy,
and the freedom and flexibility offered in running one's own business, as
observed by Deng Deng, Hassan and Jivan (1995) Among this majority,
22 percent cited that money and profits were additional driving forces
in their decision to set up their own businesses while the remaining 34
percent were motivated by personal crises, social considerations and
family loyalty.
The most common start-up problems faced by women seem to have
been a lack of start-up capital, coupled with a lack of confidence in the
abilities of female business owners' by banks, suppliers, and clients
alike, as well as family issues. For Singaporean female business own-
ers, the most critical start-up problems are difficulties in finding labour,
obtaining finance, competing with others, establishing credibility and
coping with high business costs. Other problems encountered at the
launch of the business include marketing, pricing, management, social,
interpersonal, production, knowledge, and personal issues. After the
launch of the business, women owner/managers, needing to compete
for limited resources could be at a disadvantage, since they may lack a
track record and thus credibility when applying for bank loans or trying
to obtain credit from suppliers. This would clearly affect the operational
costs of their enterprises.
Factors that Singaporean businesswomen cite as having attributed
to their success are product and service qualities (77 percent), per-

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Ramin Cooper Maysami and Christopher Ziemnowicz __________________________

sonal qualities (73 percent), quality of personnel (66 percent), adequate

knowledge of products and services (63 percent), and customer loyalty
(61 percent). Other factors reported are the availability of professional
advice or government assistance (24 percent), technological advantage
(16 percent), and availability of financing and capital (16 percent).
They generally started small sized businesses in the service and retail
sectors and required limited use of technology and little initial capital.
Moreover, Singaporean female business owners seem to have been al-
ready familiar with the area of their vocation and thus did not require
any professional services. Moreover, they were also capable of striving
hard for success with insufficient funds.
Teo (1996) further found certain relationships between success6 and
various general characteristics of female business owners in Singapore.
First, successful businesswomen seem to be more educated, and thus have
more up-to-date knowledge of available technologies through university
education. They may also be more aware of the operation of the business
world and better trained to put their skills and knowledge to good use.
When considering motivation and how they were encouraged to start,
all successful Singaporean female business owners stated that it was
their own idea to start a business as compared to 69 percent of the less
successful owners. This may suggests that women who on their own
thought of starting and running a business are more driven to work hard
and to make their businesses a success. Additionally, successful women
business owners are motivated by the need to provide financial support
for the family and the desire to have control over their lives.
Finally, about three-quarters of successful women business owners
in Singapore stated that a good networking system was an important
success factor, compared to less than half of the less successful ones
who thought so. In the US, similarly, both Woodward (1988) and Kot-
ter (1982) had earlier found that successful businesswomen spent more
time developing network contacts before starting their business as well
as subsequent to the start of operation. It seems vital, then, to build and
maintain good relations with both staff and clients in this competitive
environment.
Work experience, on the other hand, does not seem to have much
impact on the success of the women-owned businesses in Singapore: 30
percent of the successful business owners had no previous work experi-
ence compared to only 3 percent of the less successful ones.

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Concluding Comments
This study shows similarities in the entrepreneurial characteristics
of among three groups in Singapore's multi-racial and multi-cultural
society. The principal reason for this leveling out has been the gov-
ernment's predetermined development of a national identity. These
policies have contributed to Singapore's business success, as well as to
changing cultures. Different ethnic communities now accept the same
set of values for dealing with attitudes such as risk-taking, determina-
tion, and self-efficacy.
Factors such as race, gender, and culture have been made almost
made indistinguishable as the majority of Singaporeans are exposed to a
standardized, English-based, and unified educational system. Not only
has this imparted a common set of values within the required formal
academic experience, but also in all other milieu. The selective use and
modification of values from a number of cultures has been blended to
form an amalgamated Singaporean value system culture. Moreover,
the lifestyle and high degree of social interaction among Singaporeans
has achieved a blurring of cultural boundaries.
Nevertheless, some aspects of this manufactured culture are generat-
ing tension and challenging the potential opportunities gained from en-
trepreneurship. For example, following the tried and tested is rewarded,
while there is a stigma from failure. A characteristic of Singaporeans
is to focus on continuous pursuit of excellence, yet this seems to have
adversely affected the self-efficacy of its people. These are some of the
factors to help explain a society that is highly risk adverse. This places
limits in Singapore's effort to shift into an entrepreneurial-driven mode
of development.
The cultural effects of moving to an entrepreneurial-based economic
development are significant and this study finds shortcomings in
changing the strategy. Moreover, the history of successes in Singapore's
economic achievements has promoted a complacent society and people
reluctant to move out of their comfort zones. For example, attractive
career opportunities within large corporations offer greater rewards
than entrepreneurial risk taking. Younger Singaporeans exhibit this
behavior, which may further limit future innovative entrepreneurial
endeavors. However, enterprises established by females may offer a
new source of entrepreneurial potential.
Singapore's experience is controversial, with many perceived and
real faults, yet it is undeniably unique. Singapore also serves as one of

_________________________________________________________________________ 93
Ramin Cooper Maysami and Christopher Ziemnowicz __________________________

the models for policies to build growth opportunities in other nations.

However, the significance of the unique cultural and social makeup
of Singapore is important because they are not as comparable with
economic development focused on entrepreneurship. Singapore has a
particular Asian context and it is substantially different from the environ-
ment and cultural experience of nations where entrepreneurial-driven
growth has been successful. Further research is required to establish the
appropriate cultural values and administrative policies to best benefit
from the changes occurring in Singapore.

Ramin Cooper Maysami is chaired professor at Department of Economics,

Finance, and Decision Sciences, School of Business Administration, University
of North Carolina at Pembroke (ramin.maysami@uncp.edu); Christopher
Ziemnowicz is chaired professor at Department of Management, Marketing,
and International Business, School of Business Administration, University of
North Carolina at Pembroke (ziemnow@uncp.edu).

NOTES
1 Singapore Senior Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, The Straits Times, 11 Feb 2000, p. 1.
2 'Wanted: Risk-takers to add zip to economy', The Straits Times, 11 Feb 2000, pp. 1.
3 Mr. Lim Swee Say, Speech at the 26th Annual Report Awards Presentation Dinner,
24 Nov 1999.
4 'Handsome rewards await those who dare to take risks, says PM', The Straits Times,
4 Feb 2000
5 'Moves to promote risk-taking', The Straits Times, 30 June, 2000
6 Success was measured using net profit growth, sales revenue growth, return on
investment or market share. 38 percent of those entrepreneurs who used net profit
growth as a measure of success considered an achievement of 6 percent - 10 percent
growth per annum to be an indication of a successful business.

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